He's there when the world turns dark
by HB rules
Summary: Set during Catching Fire. Effie has to watch as her world falls apart around her, but just as she thinks she cannot cope any longer she finds a warm embrace to keep her safe. Hayffie, got to love it! T for a hint of happiness...


**Now as much as I should probably be getting on with work, many other stories, things like that I had this idea and I thought, might as well! I have been driven slightly mad since seeing the film *cough* four times *cough* by Hayffie and I do not just ship it I believe in it xD**

**Disclaimer: All recognisable characters etc. thanks to Suzanne Collins, though she cannot blame us Hayffie lovers for wanting to make it canon. It is in my mind!**

**Quick intro. Set during Catching Fire, just as the Quarter Quell begins. Effie's world is falling apart, but someone is there to save her.**

**Please leave a review!**

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She let a shuddered breath escape her bright pink lips. Effie knew that she had to watch the images on the screen before her; it was her job, her duty, but she had quickly grown to despise it. There had been a time in her life when the idea of a Quarter Quell would have been so exciting that she would have done anything to watch every second of it on television. Now, she just wanted to be as far away from the Games as possible.

It had been enough of a shock that Peeta and Katniss had both managed to survive the previous Hunger Games, but now they were been thrown back into the arena with 22 others who had all been victors in the past. Their future wasn't exactly looking to be a pleasant one. Effie knew that after the way the last Games ended, there would only be one victor this year; they would make sure of it. At least one of them was going to die...

'How long have you been hiding away up here?'

Effie started at the sudden sound. She had thought that she was alone, but turned to see Cinna leaning against the doorframe.

'Long enough,' she replied, 'I thought you were supposed to be getting Katniss ready for the Games?' It was nearing nine o'clock and they had to be in the arena by ten.

'I'll be there when she needs me to be,' Cinna said warmly, 'but I hadn't seen you since the interviews last night. Have you been up here the entire time?' Effie nodded.

She had known that she wouldn't be able to sleep, so had given in and curled up on the sofa in one of the private viewing areas, sipping wine to numb her emotions as she watched the interviews unfold and the features on each of the victors through the night.

'You can tell me, you know,' he said gently, sitting down beside her. 'I can see it in your eyes; something's wrong.' Effie wondered how he always knew what she was thinking. They had known each other for a few years now, through their work for the Games, and he was the closest thing she had to a true friend. Of course there were many Capitol women she went to lunch with, but she couldn't confide in them; they were just for show. Cinna knew the woman no-one else got to see.

'I...I don't know how to explain it,' Effie admitted honestly. 'I've been doing this job for, what? Six years? I watched four pairs of tributes try and fail to make it even past the first day, without managing to upset myself but now...it's different.'

'You care about them,' Cinna stated.

'I've always cared,' she assured him, slightly hurt that he would ever think her capable of doing her job without caring for those she had to escort to their deaths.

'Then what's changed?'

Effie sighed.

'I thought that this time, I wouldn't have to lose them,' she explained. Her eyes caught Cinna's, deep brown with a true understanding that few ever managed to achieve. 'They won, they survived; I even got to go on a victory tour!' Cinna smiled at her, but she dropped her gaze with tears in her eyes.

'I just don't want to watch them die.'

The images that came to her flooded her mind, taking control, and she couldn't bear it. She saw Peeta staring lifelessly into the distance, Katniss with blood across her face...Effie had allowed herself to become too close to these children, and now she was going to lose them.

Cinna wrapped his arms around Effie pulling her close as she cried into his chest.

'It's okay,' he whispered, 'they'll be safe, I know they will.' She pulled back, staring at him with a confused expression on her face

'They can't be safe, not both of them, and the likelihood that even one of them can win-'

'Effie, do you trust me?' She was shocked by the question, but her answer was assured.

'Of course,' she whispered, 'always.'

'Then know that they will both come out of these Games very much alive.'

Her expression turned from horror to fear as she started to realise just what he was saying.

'What's going on, Cinna?' He shook his head.

'I can't tell you.'

'Please,' Effie begged, 'I need to know what's going on. If what I am thinking is even half right-'

'I would tell you, Effie, I promise I would but I don't want to put you in danger,' Cinna said sternly but calmly.

'I don't need protecting,' she huffed, 'I can handle myself thank you. Now will you tell me what is going on or so help me, I will storm out to the nearest Peacekeeper and tell them to ask you about it.' She would never do such a thing, and they both knew it, but Cinna couldn't deny her any longer.

'You know what happened in District 8?'

'Yes,' Effie confirmed.

'Well it's much bigger than just one district, it's everywhere. There are plans in place, people ready to take action when the time comes and this world is going to change, rapidly. So you need to get yourself out, do you understand me?'

Effie couldn't find the words to reply, barely able to take in what she was being told.

'Effie,' he pressed, 'do you understand me? Get what you need and go, wherever you can, just away from here.'

'I understand,' she said weakly.

'You'll know when it's started,' Cinna assured her, 'but you need to be out of here before that. Watch the Games. Now I have to go.'

'I'll see you tonight, for the banquet though, won't I?'

His silence was her reply.

'Cinna,' Effie stuttered, tears forming in her eyes, 'I will see you later?'

'I'm sorry,' he whispered, giving her a hug which felt far too much like a goodbye.

'No...' she breathed, her heart pounding and her head screaming.

'Stay safe, Effie, and get out.'

As he walked away, she screamed after him but he wouldn't turn around. Effie was left, crying out to a man who would never return with only the images on the screen to shout at.

Xxx

When she walked into the living room of the penthouse, the sky was beginning to darken outside. She had watched, as instructed, the Games unfold before her but the only thing she was sure of was that Peeta and Katniss were still alive; the rest had been nothing more than a blur.

She barely registered Haymitch who was sitting on the couch, watching the highlights from the first day with a glass still full of liquor in his hand. He turned to look at her, his expression first as disinterested as usual but then he saw the sadness in her eyes.

'Effie?' She couldn't find the energy to reply. Her trembling hand gripped the back of the chair, her legs feeling dangerously unsteady beneath her meagre weight.

'Are you all right?' He stood up and came around to her. When their eyes met, Effie thought that she saw genuine concern in his gaze.

'No,' she answered honestly, forcing a weak smile. Effie walked past him, taking a bottle of clear liquid from the table and taking a long, burning drink without bothering with a glass. She hadn't tasted such harsh alcohol in a while, and it hurt, but she didn't care anymore.

'What are you doing?' Haymitch asked, but Effie wasn't listening. She tipped the bottle back and gulped down almost half of its contents before wavering on her heels, almost falling to the floor. Haymitch was there in a second, one hand around her waist and the other trying to remove the bottle from her hand.

'Steady on sweetheart,' he almost laughed, 'there's no need-'

'Why not?' she spat, the harshness of her tone taking Haymitch by surprise. 'You spend every minute of every day getting drunk and you're somehow still standing. Just leave me alone.' Effie took another drink but he was on hand to stop her, trying to wrestle the bottle from her hands when she tripped and the bottle smashed as she hit the floor.

Her vision turned to a blurry haze, the colourful images which replaced reality engulfing her senses until she was scared of them and what they could do to her.

'Effie, are you okay?'

Shaking her head she came to, realising the she was on the floor, and took Haymitch's offered arm to help her to stand. Her hand stung, and when she looked down Effie noticed a long deep cut through the palm of her hand with her blood dripping onto the carpet.

'You're going to have to talk to me at some point,' said Haymitch. Her eyes met his once again, and she crumbled.

He didn't try and talk to her, didn't ask why, but he wrapped his arms around her and held her close to him. It was so unusual to see a woman so composed break down in front of him, but it proved that she was human. He wondered if it was due to the lack of alcohol that he had consumed over the past twenty four hours, but Haymitch felt his usual frustrated feelings towards Effie melt away, revealing something else, something he couldn't quite place, which had always been hidden underneath.

'First things first princess,' Haymitch said gently after some time, 'we need to get that hand sorted.' Effie pulled away from his embrace, still shaking, and winced as she looked down at her hand. She never had been able to stand the sight of blood. She sat gingerly on the couch, holding out her hand palm up as Haymitch found a cloth and wrapped it loosely around the wound; he noticed how she bit her lip as he tightened the knot.

'Thank you,' Effie whispered, her tone barely as loud as a breath of wind. 'I...I'm sorry, Haymitch. I shouldn't have shouted at you.'

'No need to be,' he assured her. 'But I would like to know what made you think that the only answer was lowering yourself to my standard of living.' She didn't smile.

'Cinna...' she breathed.

'What about him?' asked Haymitch, but she couldn't reply. Her face fell into her hands. When she closed her eyes, he was walking away from her again as she screamed for him to stop.

'I'm sorry,' Haymitch muttered.

'Don't be,' Effie said, raising her head from her hands and wiping her eyes. 'It's not your fault. Oh God, my makeup must be all smudged.' Haymitch allowed a small chuckle to escape his lips, and through her tears he saw the corners of her mouth twitch. He went to the sink and got a cloth, wetting it under the cold water tap. He returned and began to wipe the remnants of eyeliner and blusher from her cheeks; Effie didn't refuse him.

'Any better?' she asked when he was finished.

'Much,' Haymitch assured her. 'You don't need that stuff you know; you aren't bad underneath it all.'

'I know,' Effie sighed, 'but I can't just be the one girl wandering around without any heels or powder, I would be laughed at.'

'No-one would laugh if they saw how beautiful you look.'

Effie felt her cheeks burn hot, knowing he was sincere.

'Just...one more thing,' he suggested, grabbing her fake lavender curls and pulling them from her head. 'There we go: beautiful.' Though reeling at being suddenly exposed, Effie did not scold him and instead reached to her head to undo the pins which held her real hair in place. It was the bright yellow colour of morning sunshine, tumbling down her back as she released it from its restraints. Haymitch couldn't help but watch her; this was who she really was, he thought, and she's amazing.

Effie looked over at the screen. The cameras had settled on Katniss and Peeta, who were just managing to survive. Eight dead in the first day, and Peeta's life had almost been taken on more than one occasion. How had she never realised how horrible the whole thing was?

'It took me a long time to realise it,' Effie said after a moment's silence, 'but I see it now. I see what you see when you look at us, the Capitol men and women; you must hate me.'

'I have never hated you,' Haymitch assured her, and it was the truth. He had felt many things towards Effie, but never hatred.

'You probably should,' she whispered, 'I would hate myself too. I do...'

'None of this is your fault,' he said comfortingly.

'But I condone it,' countered Effie, 'I loved it as a child and I have never tried to stop it. I can only hope that it will all change, that those who deserve to be punished are stopped.'

'Effie-'

'I don't even know what's going to happen,' she continued, cutting him off, 'but anything has to be better than this. Those bastards will get what's coming to them.'

He took her arm, forcefully but without hurting her, forcing her to look at him.

'Effie, you can't say that,' he whispered.

'I just did,' she replied, smiling weakly, 'and I would say it again.'

'It's not the time to be getting on the wrong side of people; you know they could be listening.'

'I've always been on the wrong side,' Effie told him, her eyes glistening with truth. Bright sapphire blue eyes, deep and innocent; he couldn't help but fall right into them.

Haymitch realised how close they were, inches away and staring into each other's eyes. He wanted to ask her what she knew, what Cinna had so obviously told her, but he couldn't bring himself to break the precious moment they were caught in; one magical moment when everything else was falling apart.

It happened before either of them could think about what they were doing. Their lips met, reluctantly at first but they both soon warmed to each other's touch. Haymitch placed a hand gently on her leg, the other reaching up and softly caressing her cheek. It seemed so right, so perfect, as if it was meant to be.

'Are you sure, sweetheart?' he whispered when their lips broke apart.

'More sure than I have ever been,' she assured him, moving closer to him so that their bodies were pressed together, his chest warm against hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a kiss, gentle but deep and meaningful. Their gentle hunger fuelled their kisses, each not quite enough to satisfy their lips and making them come back for more.

Effie let him into a place she had never really allowed any other man to go. She gave herself to him completely, silently begging him to take her, there and then, and never let her go. There were so many things that she wanted to say, the thoughts that she had buried deep within her mind in fear of his rejection, but she was lost in his embrace and happy to be.

She leaned back so that she was lying on the sofa, Haymitch moving until he was on top of her kissing her neck and holding her close. His fingers traced the outline of her body, her hips and her chest, before they became lost in her hair. He had never felt such happiness, not in as long as he could remember, but it wasn't built to last.

Effie stopped when she heard it, the door of the lift opening just out of view in the hallway. She sat up, craning her neck to see if someone was there.

'I'll be right back,' she whispered, giving him a lingering kiss which left him wanting so much more. He watched her walk away, his eyes unable to ignore her curvaceous body and the roundness of her bottom until she disappeared from view. He almost missed her already.

Walking tentatively into the shadows, Effie looked at the open lift doors and wondered who would need to come up to their floor so late at night. It could always have been an avox, she thought, returning from duties downstairs and setting up the dining room for supper. That was when she saw them.

Haymitch's world fell apart when he heard her scream. He was on his feet in a heartbeat, running to the lift to see a sight which he had never thought he would see. Two Peacekeepers clad entirely in white had hold of Effie's arms, dragging her towards the lift as she screamed in protest.

'Haymitch!' she cried out, her tearful eyes wide with fear.

'GET OFF HER!' Haymitch roared, lunging towards one and trying to prise his grip away from Effie. But they were strong muscular men, trained for this very moment. The Peacekeeper let go of Effie and punched Haymitch hard in the jaw, causing him to stagger back as his mouth filled with blood and his vision blurred. The other Peacekeeper took hold of both of Effie's arms and threw her against the back of the lift capsule, her head banging hard against the thick glass.

'Haymitch,' she screamed, 'please I have to tell you something.' Effie scrambled across the floor before the men had hold of her arms again and were holding her down.

'NO!' she cried, Haymitch I-'

Her words were cut off as the doors closed. Haymitch staggered up to the door, his hands pounding hopelessly against the glass as he watched her scream against their touch and try to communicate with him through the barrier which kept them apart; so close and yet so far. He watched in tears as she sped away from him, falling down into the depths of despair where even he could not reach her. Their kiss seemed to be a million years ago, their newfound happiness destroyed as quickly as it had come. She was gone.

Effie struggled against the Peacekeepers grip, knowing that he was gone but still screaming the words she had longed to say to him. She didn't care what was going to happen to her, she couldn't bear to think about it, she just wanted to hold him one more time before her life lost its meaning. As she fell once again to the ground, darkness creeping in to take ownership of her as a needle stuck into her arm, Effie whispered it one more time, praying that somehow it would get through to him.

'I love you.'

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**Why can I never give a happy ending? Anyway, thanks for reading and pleas leave your comments etc. **

**Hayffie forever!**


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